RSVF News and Updates

How to Move Forward from Covid-19

Written by: Colton Knight
Translation by: Orlando Ramirez
Date: August 17,2020

The RSVF has undertaken a number of improvements over the last twelve months, and with the arrival of COVID-19, many of our initial plans have been shelved for the time being. The vendors who make up this organization have had to take focus away from this association to deal with impacts on their businesses’, but in recent weeks, we have re-organized our efforts, and I will break down what we are doing and where we are going from here.

The impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns has been severe in our organization. With data provided to us by the state licensing agency (SLA), in the months of March, April, and May of 2020, all facility types that make up the Randolph-Sheppard Program (RSP) in Florida experienced large losses in revenue. Comparing March, April, and May of 2020 to the same months in 2019, the average loss of business is as follows:

Rest-area vending: -56%
Vending routes: -35%
Snack bars and cafeterias: -70%

These numbers are staggering, and the RSVF stands by to help our vendors where we can. Many vendors in this organization have had to scale back their businesses. Vendors have had to cut hours or lay off workers, scale back food and concession offerings, and even discontinue paying things such as health insurance, rent/mortgage, and utilities, just to keep the business afloat. In the case of some of our vendors, it has come to our attention that several individuals are struggling to keep food on the table. As an association for blind Randolph-Sheppard vendors, we plan to help those that are desperately struggling. We have put together a fundraising campaign to help struggling vendors buy groceries. If funds are available, we may be able to help with rent and utilities as well.

The RSVF has started a Go Fund Me, and has set a goal of $20,000 to help those who were severely impacted by the lockdowns. You can visit our Go Fund Me to make a donation by following this link: (Insert link) We thank you for anything you may be able to give.

Thank you for reading, and stay tuned for future press releases. Please share this article, and help us reach our fund raising goal.

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